An all-new entertainment and dining experience is making its way to Downtown Gainesville in the Historic Walton Jackson Building this fall.
DECOY, an upscale family-friendly restaurant will have so much more to offer the people of Gainesville besides elevated American cuisine, cocktails, wine, and a large selection of beers. It will also allow patrons to enjoy games in between dining.
Rand Carswell, owner of the Chattahoochee Grill and the upcoming “eatertainment” venue explained how the idea to open DECOY came about.
“It has been almost a year in the works, trying to solve the problem that most people in Gainesville told me that they had, which was, there was nothing for people to really do,” Carswell said. “There's tons of great restaurants and bars and places to go, but the only thing you can do there is just eat and drink and talk. To have something where you could actually participate in a game or something like that, and still be in an environment where you can have food, and drinks–we didn't have that.”
The new restaurant will be classified as “eatertainment”, which refers to establishments where patrons can enjoy food, while also participating in themed activities, but DECOY plans to be a step above the typical family-friendly entertainment restaurant.
“Typically, what people are familiar with are the family entertainment centers like Dave and Busters or something similar to that where the focus is mainly on the games, and then they happen to have food there as well,” Carswell explained. “Most of the time, they don't put too much thought into the food or drink, it's mostly bringing in people for the games. And this is going to be a little bit different in the sense of we are a restaurant and bar that happens to have all these games inside of there.”
DECOY will offer three different attractions, including duckpin bowling, tech-infused minigolf, and golf simulator bays.
Tech-infused mini golf is akin to putt-putt, except the balls and golf club help players keep track of their score
“We're really excited to bring something like this to Gainesville,” Carswell commented. “I think it's going to be a hit and it's needed here. We can't wait to bring a place where everybody can have a place where they can come in and have fun on a date night or family excursion and be able to get some really good food and good cocktails and play some fun games.
DECOY is expected to open later this year in the fall. To get updates about DECOY’s progress, visit www.EatPlayDecoy.com
